Create a custom size Azure compliant Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file

IBM provides an Azure-compliant VHD file that can be used to deploy Security Identity Manager to Azure.

The size of the VHD file is 100 GB. To use a size other than 100 GB, we can create a custom pre-installed Security Identity Manager image for Azure manually. After the ISIM installation finishes, it is not possible to resize the hard disk. This process requires a Microsoft Hyper-V environment and the ISIM firmware installation ISO.

These steps apply to Hyper-V Manager version 10 and similar.

  1. In the Hyper-V Manager, create a new virtual machine using the wizard. n the wizard, follow these steps:

    1. When prompted to Specify Generation, select the Generation 1 option.

    2. When prompted to Assign Memory, enter 16384MB or more. This amount can be changed later after installation.

    3. When prompted to Configure Networking, no network connection is required.

    4. When prompted to Connect Virtual Hard Disk, create a new virtual hard disk. Set the size of the virtual disk to the desired custom size. This size can not be changed after installation finishes.

    5. When prompted for Installation Options, attach the ISIM installation ISO.

  2. Start the newly created virtual machine.

    1. When starting the virtual machine for the first time, press Enter to begin with the virtual appliance installation process.

    2. Select the language to use during the installation.

    3. Enter yes to continue.

  3. When the installation process is complete, unmount the installation media, and reboot the VM. After it reboots, the login prompt is displayed. Do not do any configuration and shutdown the VM.

  4. In the Actions tab, click Edit Disk. The Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard is started. In the wizard, follow these steps:

    1. When prompted to Locate Disk, select the VHD file associated with the virtual machine created earlier.

    2. When prompted to Choose Action, select the Convert option.

    3. When prompted to Choose Disk Format, select VHD. Azure does not support the VHDX format.

    4. When prompted to Choose Disk Type, select Fixed size. Azure does not support dynamically expanding or thin-provisioned disks.

    5. When prompted to Configure Disk, choose a new location to save the converted disk to.

  5. After the Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard is complete, the newly converted VHD is ready to be uploaded to Microsoft Azure.

    • The Security Identity Manager firmware must not be configured before preparing it to upload to Azure. If the machine is not in the unconfigured state when first started on Azure, it will not correctly detect the Azure environment.
    • It is possible to convert the VHD using other methods, such as the Powershell extensions for Hyper-V and qemu-img.

    • The firmware installation must take place in a Microsoft Hyper-V environment. For example, you can not install Security Identity Manager in VMware and convert it to an Azure-appropriate VHD. The hypervisor that the ISIM firmware is installed in must be the same as its intended execution environment. Microsoft Hyper-V Generation 1 is considered to be the same hardware as Microsoft Azure by the ISIM firmware.
    • For details about the VHD requirements, see the General Linux Installation Notes topic on the Microsoft Azure documentation website.

Parent topic: Microsoft Azure support